New Scientist


Lack of sleep may cause anxiety by making us less adaptable to threats

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 15:30:00 +0000

People who were deprived of sleep overnight didn't seem to adapt to being in a potentially threatening space, which may help explain the link between a lack of shuteye and anxiety


Why banishing irrational numbers could trigger a revolution in quantum theory

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Irrational numbers have underpinned quantum mechanics for a century. Removing them could eliminate its strangest features and trigger the biggest upheaval in physics since quantum theory began


Diabetes drug metformin may halve the risk of dementia

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:25:10 +0000

Taking metformin, a type 2 diabetes drug, has been linked to a lower risk of dementia over the following decades, but the association isn't conclusive


How much water do you really need to drink to keep your brain sharp?

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:14:38 +0000

Water is essential for good brain function, with a handful of convincing studies suggesting that dehydration could be slowing you down, cognitively speaking. Columnist Helen Thomson explores how much water we should be drinking to stay sharp


Dice discovered that solve decade-long mathematical problem

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 12:32:17 +0000

After years of searching, mathematicians have found dice that can allow five players to fairly decide who moves first in a board game, with a winner guaranteed from just a single roll


From back pain to cancer, how the interstitium could transform medicine

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

For centuries, we’ve ignored the interstitium, but research is now revealing that this body-wide network of fluid is instrumental to our health and points the way to new treatments 


Plastic bottles can be turned into edible, vanilla-flavour cookies

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Hundreds of millions of tonnes of plastic pollution are created each year. One option may be to turn the pollution into food, but critics voice concerns


‘Off the charts’ El Niño is already the strongest since records began

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Renowned climate scientist James Hansen says the developing super El Niño has already "blown past" previous events with months to go before it peaks


Greenland meltwater is intensifying European heatwaves

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 16:00:00 +0000

The cooling of the North Atlantic is creating waviness in the jet stream and high-pressure ridging over Europe, a study finds


Burns improve more rapidly after treatment with fish skin

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Severe burns are often treated with synthetic products ahead of skin graft surgery, but there is evidence that a product made from minimally processed cod skin is more effective